Motor racing star talks his love of football and meeting Del Piero

Michael Caruso is a motor racing star, one of the best drivers currently competing in the Supercar series with Nissan.

But as well as a love for motorsport he is also a football tragic.

While his racing commitments meant he hasn’t played football competitively for almost two decades, he still has a huge interest in the sport as a fan.

A Sydney boy through and through, Caruso is a Sky Blues supporter while Juventus is his team in Italy.

With the rebel Play Football Round kicking off tonight and going right through Round 19, we caught up with the 34-year-old to discuss his passion for the game.

Michael Caruso talks football, in his own words...

I started playing football when I was a young tacker, I think it was under-6s or 7s and played until I was about 14.

I played until my motor racing took over and I decided to go down that path.

While I stopped playing on weekends, I still had a kick around with mates.

The love of the game hasn’t changed, I’m just a better race car driver than a footballer.

I played for Collaroy Strikers for a couple of years and then I played for Curl Curl, two clubs on the northern beaches where I grew up.

I loved it but I was never going to be putting on the Australian jersey that’s for sure, that’s why my motor racing took over.

Michael Caruso after finishing on the podium at Bathurst.

But I’m a big fan still. It’s something I enjoy watching and following it.

Being a Sydney boy, Sydney FC are the team I support and the last couple of years have been really good obviously.

I actually played in a charity match a couple of years ago and did a bit with them.

I got to meet Del Piero, he gave me one of his playing shirts and I gave him a racing one. It was a pretty cool time, especially as I’m a Juventus fan.

To have the club hero come and play for the other team I support in Sydney was pretty unique.

To actually get some time to talk to him and have a bit of a kick around at training one day is something I’ll never forget. And to have a signed jersey that he handed to me is pretty special.

Obviously it’s great to be a Sydney FC supporter and seeing them winning and dominating last year. Hopefully they can do it again this year.

I love going out to matches and I’ve been lucky enough to go to two [UEFA] Champions League finals, one of which Juventus played in as well. While the result wasn’t what I hoped for, to get to do stuff like that is amazing.

There’s nothing like the atmosphere that a football game can bring upon inside a special stadium.